Florida’s holiday cheer is in short supply this year

Did Elon Musk really need to remove Disney+ from all Teslas? [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an imaginary demon of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Bridget Ziegler [lost]( it all. - Bob Iger has more than one [brawl](. - Jerome Powell’s [pivot]( is a curveball. - Joe Biden’s [approval]( continues to fall. A Holiday for Hypocrites In 2015, Bridget Ziegler [had it all](. The [job](. The [guy](. The [Christmas card](: This holiday season, we’re learning a little bit about what Bridget doesn’t have. For starters, she doesn’t have the sympathy of Mary Ellen Klas, who says the Moms for Liberty co-founder [has lost all authenticity]( after getting caught up in a three-way sex scandal with her husband, Christian Ziegler, who has been accused of rape. She doesn’t have the support of the Republican Party of Florida, which just [censured her husband]( and stripped him of authority amid the sexual assault investigation. And she doesn’t have the approval of of her fellow Sarasota County School Board members, many of whom [voted]( for her to resign last week. Normally, the personal lives of prominent Republican couples in Florida wouldn’t be anyone’s business. But the Zieglers have made a career out of promoting “traditional” family values through a very public morality crusade. They’ve gone out of their way to help foster homophobia and xenophobia — [pushing for bans]( of classic children’s books, for example, or fighting against equal treatment of LGBTQ children, or rallying against sex education and the teaching of Black history. To put it simply: “The Zieglers are imposters,” as Mary Ellen says. Mary Ellen says that the organization that buttresses Bridget’s bigotry — Moms for Liberty — must disband or start over. It was born during the pandemic as a way to protest the mask mandates and Covid classroom closures. But now that kids are back in school, the organization has shifted its focus. Instead of dealing with the many problems that children face in school — from [mental health]( to [poor grades]( — Moms has “used parents as pawns and became tools of right-wing extremists intent on fighting imaginary demons,” Mary Ellen writes. Its silence on the Ziegler saga “is proof it’s only in it for political power, not because of a desire to be honest advocates for improving children’s education.” Although Christian Ziegler’s fate will be decided on Sunday by the Republican Party of Florida’s executive board, Bridget Ziegler’s future is still up in the air. She refuses to resign from the school board, and the organization she co-founded is staying silent. I wonder if the Ziegler family Christmas card was sent out on time. Wokus Pokus There’s really no shortage of Made-in-Florida entertainment these days. Beth Kowitt [says]( Disney CEO Bob Iger has enough antagonists for three Disney films. But three movies miiiight be going over budget, considering Disney’s recent spate of [box office flops](. How about one Disney film with three antagonists? Oh wait. That already exists: The 1990s cult classic [Hocus Pocus]( features three evil sisters (with terrible dental hygiene, might I add) who lure young children into their cottage. Maybe we can rework that premise? Instead of a group of 300-year-old witches trying to reclaim their youth, there’s a trio of powerful yet disgruntled mortals working to torment a 72-year-old CEO who is [exhausted and overwhelmed](. My Photoshop skills may be a little rusty, but I think we might have a hit on our hands, folks: On the left, you’ve got Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has stripped Disney of its special tax district status. Then on the right there’s activist investor Nelson Peltz, who believes the company is rotting from the inside-out. Between the two is Elon Musk. Just today, the Telsa CEO reportedly [removed Disney+]( from all vehicles amid his feud with Iger over advertising on X. Put together, these three characters and their collective “War on Woke” give the spellbinding [Sanderson sisters]( a run for their money. Iger, for his part, is struggling to fight the drama: “This is not the business climate that Iger grew up in, nor the one that he left behind when he stepped down as CEO in 2020,” Beth writes. Gone are the days when personal disputes were dissolved behind closed boardroom doors. Now, there are [attempted coups]( in the press, [Neo-Nazi protests]( in the streets and anger in the [tweets](. Nobody is playing nice anymore, and Iger is finding that out the hard way. “As business has injected itself into issues once handled exclusively by government, government’s way of doing business has rubbed off,” she writes. “In corporate America, a type of pettiness and vindictiveness has taken hold, one that’s more associated with and befitting the hyperpartisan politics of Washington.” Making matters worse is Disney’s actual performance. Iger has several fires to put out, including the 21st Century Fox acquisition Disney overpaid for, a fledgling streaming business and his failed attempt at succession planning. Will 2024 spell his demise? Watch Wokus Pokus, coming soon to Disney+, to find out! Just don’t try and watch it in your Tesla. Powell Pivot Poetry Fed rate hikes are [officially over!]( And so, we must retire our Rate Hike Haikus. Now you get Powell Pivot Poetry, featuring Bloomberg’s editorial board, John Authers and Bill Dudley. Enjoy, you Fed freaks: In the Fed’s dumpster sits a Post-It note that [says](: “HIGHER FOR LONGER.” Investors are pleased, the stock market leaps with glee … It makes us [worry](. The dot plot predicts [three rate cuts]( in the new year. Futures priced in [six](. Telltale Charts As if a bogus [impeachment inquiry]( weren’t enough, President Joe Biden still [lacks appeal](among younger Americans in swing states, even after he rolled out his grand [student-loan forgiveness plan](. While Gen Z voters say he’s doing too little, a plurality of all voters in swing states say he’s doing too much. “This is representative of the larger dynamic that has currently marooned the president with historically [bad approval ratings](. On many issues, he has made meaningful policy change in [a progressive direction]( — often at the cost of alienating more moderate voters,” Matthew Yglesias [writes](. Even when Biden finds the political porridge that’s not too hot, not too cold, but juuust right, it still doesn’t please everyone: One of the more exciting things to happen today was US Steel [announcing]( that it’s selling itself to Japan’s largest steelmaker for $55 a share in cash, or about $14.9 billion including the assumption of debt. I know, I know: Doesn’t sound like much. But Brooke Sutherland [says]( Nippon’s bid for the iconic American company is “a staggering premium” compared to where US Steel shares were trading on Friday. It’s an interesting twist, considering it wasn’t that long ago that Trump slapped tariffs on foreign steel imports. “The deal will test the US’s embrace of friend-shoring,” Brooke argues. [This video]( from Senator John Fetterman doesn’t offer much hope. Further Reading Free read: If Trump beats Biden and [cuts off]( America’s allies, the US is in for a world of hurt. — Andreas Kluth Farfetch is down about 99% since its peak. Its fall [raises questions]( over where to IPO. — Andrea Felsted Draymond Green’s [indefinite suspension]( should cost the NBA. — Adam Minter A [conversation]( with Harvard’s Calder Walton about spies, lies and big data. — Tobin Harshaw The war in Gaza may have given [the BDS movement]( some teeth. Just ask Zara. — Leticia Miranda France has a secret [economic weapon](, and it’s not baguettes. It’s bureaucrats! — Tyler Cowen Cryptocurrencies survived FTX’s collapse and [became]( the investment of the year. — Niall Ferguson In Hong Kong, over [$25 billion of loans]( are due next year. Are banks willing to roll them over? — Shuli Ren ICYMI Germany is [deploying]( troops. Pope Francis [blesses same-sex couples](. Eric Adams had [a weird year](. A Cybertruck [got stuck]( in a California forest. Kickers Scientists had a [20-minute conversation]( with a whale. 26 slightly cursed [White Elephant]( gifts. Flaco the owl is [a Peeping Tom](. (h/t Andrea Felsted) Wine investors are down $99 million after [a Ponzi scheme](. The [office holiday party]( isn’t what it used to be. “Survivor” contestants use [their outfits]( to outwit each other. Notes: Please send a tin of [cow udder moisturizer]( and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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